Rods of Clow
by Keeper of Myths
Summary: Clow,keeper of clow cards,made 2 rods. Years passed since the rods were inda hands of the ruler of clow kingdom. The princess of clow kingdom is charged to find them.On her way, she meets a swordman. What started as a search turns into an epic journey. R
1. The Adventure Begins

**Authoress's note:** Ok this is my first time writing a Sakura X Syaoran fic. And actually at first it was my Best friend's story at first but he didn't feel like writing it but it sounded interesting so I volunteered to write it for him.(he better thank me later) some ideas I got from a manga called "Tsurasa" n I do not own any of the CCS characters. The rest are ma own ideas. So enjoy….

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**Chapter 1: The Adventure Begins**

Dark clouds cover the skies of the Clow Kingdom. Water and moisture fill the air, which lead the people of his majesty to shelter in the confinements of their homes. For the past few months chaos has been rotting the world, covering it in its veil of darkness. High atop one of the towers of the castle, his Majesty stands, overlooking the vast and beautiful lands of his kingdom. Yukito, the king's advisor and friend, enters the room, smiling at the king's concern.

The king broke the endless silence, "It has begun."

A bit surprised, Yukito replies, "Yes, it has begun. What shall we do King Touya?"

Never leaving his position, "Did you call for Sakura?"

Astounded, Yukito answers, "Yes, she should be here any minute. Why did you want me to call for her? After all she's not done with her schooling and I don't see any connection between with what's going on and her."

Turning to face the white-haired mage, he answers, "I'm assigning Sakura to find the rods and bring them back here, before they land in the wrong hands."

Shocked, Yukito objects, "But she's only sixteen and the only heir to the throne and beside she doesn't have that much power."

"Yet."

"Your Majesty, with all due respect, this plan is preposterous. You do not surely wish to threaten the life of your sister. If she dies, we… I mean the Kingdom will not have an heir unless you get married and have kids."

"I'd rather let my Kingdom have no ruler than let the world be conquered by darkness." He paused for a moment, thinking. "I know this may sound absurbed but Sakura is the only one with enough power to go on the quest to find the all-powerful rods. Besides, she did capture and transform the Clow Cards."

"Capturing and transforming the Clow Cards pale in comparison to what you're assigning Sakura to do. It is too much for her. Please reconsider!"

"Yukito, there's no other way."

"There must be another way! Sakura is only-"

"I know. I also know that you see Sakura not only as a princess but like a well-loved sister, as the rest of the people see her."

Yukito stays silent. Moments pass as silence took over. Just then, a cheerful childish voice erodes and soon after follows by a hug for Yukito.

"Yukito!"

"Well, hey there." He looked over the emerald green eye and auburn haired princess. He saw that she is wearing the traditional mage-in-training outfit; a long sleeveless and strapless dress that stops at the bottom of the rear and white solid stockings that are half way up the thigh with orange shoes and blanket length cloth that starts five inches from the shoulders and stops at the tip of the middle finger with a round bell hanging from the bottom end of the cloth dangling at the same length of the dress. "Don't you look pretty?"

She blushed at the remark then wined, "Yukito! I don't like wearing these types of outfits. They're too…."

"Revealing?" Touya smirks.

"Touya!" Sakura screams out. Touya could not help but stifle a laugh, which causes Sakura to stare at him in a death glare. "Don't you start Touya. Why'd you even send me to that school?"

"Why?" saying in a 'as-a-matter-of-fact' tone, "Because it's the best. It provides security, a well-rounded education, a magnificent scenery, and… because I said so."

Sakura grunts and screams while Yukito, sweat dropping, tries to settle the frantic princess. His Majesty just laughs at his dear sister's childish behavior whenever he provokes her and enjoys doing so. All of a sudden, the princess's mood changes and her curiosity takes over.

Facing her brother, she asks, "Touya?" He just gives an affirmative grunt. "The school board told me you summoned me. Why? Is there something wrong?" Touya stares at the ground looking rather sadden which scared Sakura because for one, Touya was never sad and two, if he was, he would never show it especial in front of Sakura. The only times Sakura saw his face plastered with saddness was when their father died suddenly and Touya had to take the role of a king, father, and brother all at the same time; he had to be strong for Sakura's sake. As for their mother, Sakura never knew because Nadeshiko died while giving birth to Sakura so she never knew how Touya reacted. Although whenever Sakura mentioned their mother, Touya would enter what seemed to belike an endless mode of silence so Sakura never raised the subject until Touya came to her and told her how their mother was like and how Sakura so reminded him of her.

"Take a look." Touya motions Sakura to stand beside him. Sakura does so. "What do you see? Notice anything happening lately?"

Tear starts to form in her eyes as she realizes what is going on and had a feeling what her big brother is going to ask. She looks into the eyes of her brother and states, "You want… m-me t-to find t-the rods, r-right?"

Kneeling, he embraces his sister in his warm embrace and whispers in her ear, "I know you're scared Sakura, but you can do this And if you want you can take a companion with you." Hearing this slightly relaxes Sakura. Sakura returns the hug and rushes to her room to get her stuff ready for her rigorous adventure.

Yukito then turns to face Touya, "You sure this is wise? I have a feeling there are much in store for Sakura. Dangerous things. When are you going to start acting as a brother/father figure to Sakura instead of a king whose only concern is his people and kingdom." With that said the white mage left the king to his thoughts.

_I'm doing this in Sakura's best interest. She'll thank me someday._

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

**Li Residence**

"Of course mother. I accept." Syaoran replies to a self-appointed lady sitting formally on a dragon styled oak chair. Yelen signals Syaoran to leave and he does what he is 'told'.

Syaoran is a seventeen year old teenager of average height with brown hair and amber deep eyes. He prefers wearing plain clothes; jeans and a shirt. He walks in the corridors of the rich estate toward his room. He enters and looks over his room in which he had not been in, in ages. Opening a nearby closet, which contains his weaponry, he takes out a couple of sword, daggers and a bow and arrows and places them on himself as of preparing for a war. Taking out a bag, he stuffs some clothing and some essentials for the trip and finishes by covering himself with a coat to hide his weapons. He takes one last look at his room, remembering when his life was simple. He walks out of his room, out of the mansion and into the garden and soon out of the estate, one hand carrying his light luggage and the other holding a crimson red amulet dangling from his necklace. He hopes to return home from the quest with both rods in hand along with Victory.

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Well there you have it the first chapter. Man that was tiring. Newaz if you like the story so far check out my other stories and kindly request others to read this story along with ma other ones.(I wanna know if I'm doing a good job) 


	2. On the Road

**Authoress's note(must read, really important!): **ok this is an announcement. By March 1st my penname will change, to what I don't know yet. Ya newaz oda than that enjoy reading this chapter.

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**Chapter 2: On the Road**

The trees are at their greenest, the flowers are in full bloom, and the birds' young have begun to fly on their own. It is a beautiful day despite the fact that the kingdom is covered in darkness (not literally, basically like evil rampage kind of darkness). The princess, Tomoyo, and Kero-chan travel along the dirt road, starting their search. Tomoyo is a raven black haired girl with dark blue eyes who's been Sakura's best friend since they were youngsters. Kero-chan is a small yellow teddy-bear like creature with white wings and a long tail. When Sakura had to capture the cards, Kero-chan was there to guide her.

Kero spoke up, "So…what are we lookin' for again?"

Sakura smacked her forehead while Tomoyo covered her mouth, giggling innocently. Sakura almost screamed at the top of her lungs, "Kero! How many times do I have to tell you! And _every_ time I tell you, you're stuffing your face with food!"

Kero yelled back, " Well, I need energy to live! And food is one way I can get it…besides it tastes delicious."

Sakura sighed, "Ok, Kero, I'll say this one **_more _**time. WE. ARE. LOOKING. FOR. THE. RODS. The very rods that Clow made during his rule. Legends say that the rods were the very essence of-"

The winds gently blew, stirring the leaves in the trees and on the ground. The birds stopped their singing, the squirrels froze in their places, the deers halted, their ears pricking. The leaves on the ground danced in circles while the leaves attached to the trees gracefully twirled down.

Sakura signaled Tomoyo and Kero to hide in the bushes. Both Tomoyo and the guardian were about to protest when Sakura gave them a look of concern and fear… for their lives. Slowly and carefully, Tomoyo and Kero slipped in the bushes, making a small opening in the bushes to watch the princess. Sakura stood there motionless, eyes closed. She was sensing, sensing if there was someone close and if they are on their side or their enemy. A blur running through the trees flashed in her mind. Yes, someone was present and near._ Whoosh!_ Another blur. Was there more than one? She could not tell for 'it' moves too fast for her to identify. One thing she knew was to stay alert; the first rule of combat …and life. She stayed calm, like her teacher taught her. Eyes are still closed as she continues to search. Moments pass. A shadow hides itself behind a tree. Sakura can see it's a boy. Her hands gently brush the hilts of the swords, one on each side. The target moves yet again and at the same time Sakura's eyes open, searching the shadows for any irregular movements. Still searching until she quickly turned around letting swords meet a sword.

The attacker was very agile. He constantly moved his sword, trying to hit Sakura in any open spot. He tried to hit her side but Sakura blocked it. After she blocked, he immediately aimed for her head, but she blocked it with her other sword. He continued attacking and she continued to block. Sakura saw no way out of this. When it came to attacking physically, she wasn't the best. He just kept attacking, left, right, center, right. He continued his rapid attacks, backing her into a tree.

Sakura continued blocking until she felt a tree behind her. His sword clashed against her swords, knocking both out of her hands. The steel blade of his sword touched the skin of her neck. Now Sakura was cornered. Her captor has messy brown hair and amber deep eyes, His breathing was normal, seems as if he had no struggle at all fighting the princess. His body was so close she felt her face burning. Nobody has ever been this close to her. It seems as if this is the end for her and her search. She failed her kingdom. The thought of failure to her kingdom and brother made her extremely depressed. She felt tears begin to water in her eyes.

Syaoran had his enemy in his hand (not literally). He could kill her right now and rid the world of one of the evils, but he couldn't. Looking in her emerald green eyes was mesmerizing. Those eyes showed happiness, joy, and everything pure, but right now they held fear and deep sadness. It did not matter. It's his mission to find the rods and stop anyone else who wants their greedy, power-hungry hands on them. He was ready for the kill when suddenly her eyes shut and tears began streaming down her cheeks. Syaoran was stumped. Never in his life has he seen his enemies cry as they were about to die. He was staring to have second thought. Maybe she wasn't the enemy. While he was pondering about it, he temporarily let his guard down.

This was the chance Keroberos was waiting for. He transformed into his true form and went charging in, ignoring Tomoyo who was about to protest. Keroberos wasn't going to let some swordsman hurt his mistress. His duty was to protect her and protect her, he shall.

Syaoran was slowly pulling his sword away from her neck when out of the corner of his eye he saw a stream of fire coming his way. By reflex, he jumped away amazed that the fire didn't even touch the young girl. He landed on a tree branch and stared into the eyes of his attacker who is a golden yellow lion with white wings. The most incredible creature he'd seen. Nonetheless, the creature tried to attack him so therefore 'it' got in his way of his mission. Syaoran went charging in, jumping from the tree branch toward the beast, who was preparing to fire, with sword vertically above his head.

Sakura opened her eyes when she felt a blaze of fire pass her. She immediately turned her attention to her flying guardian. From the looks of it, it seems as if a brawl was about to begin. She watched the horrific event happening in front of her.

The two opponents clashed at each other; neither one giving up nor giving in. Syaoran dashed toward Keroberos while Keroberos spurted out a line of fire. Syaoran quickly changed directions and landed safely on a tree while at the same time drew out a magic paper tablet, leaving it in the air. He thrust the flat edge of his sword at the paper and shouted, "Wind!" Keroberos barely had anytime to react of it came so fast. A stream of spiraling wind came out of the tablet and went straight for him. The attack hit its target and soon Keroberos was thrown into a tree, badly injured.

This was the opportune moment for him to deliver the final blow. He jumped off the tree and started the dashing attack. He ran as fast as he could as to not give the beast a moment to recover. Just as he was about to pierce the beast's heart with his sword, Sakura stood in front of Keroberos, arms spread out while shouting, "Stop!"

Syaoran skidded to a halt. Breathing heavily, he shouted, "Get out of the way! That beast tried to attack me. I'm only doing what I'm trained to do."

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed, she stated, "_That beast_ is my guardian. He was only doing his duty to protect me. And if I can recall you attacked first, remember?"

Syaoran yelled, "Well. I overheard you talking about the rods and I assumed you were the enemy!"

Sakura simply said, "Maybe they should've taught you to never eavesdrop and have a better judgment of character." She added, "Also to never attack poor, defenseless girls."

Syaoran had to keep himself from laughing. "Poor, defenseless girls? I definitely did not attack a defenseless girl. You have twin blades."

She stomped on the ground, sending dirt flying around her foot. She argued, "If you noticed, all I did was parry and you easily defeated me."

Now Syaoran was stumped. He knew she was right. Darn, he had nothing to say to argue with her. There she was with a smile on her face, knowing she won.

Keroberos returned to his mini form and rested on Sakura's head. A quizzical expression appeared on Syaoran's face. Sakura simply smiled and laughed at Syaoran's sudden change of expression.

"This is Keroberos's alternate form."

Syaoran poked Kero and said, "You mean to tell me that the great beast I fought was just a stuffed bear?"

At that moment, Kero bit his finger. Syaoran waved his arm violently, trying to get the thing off him. Finally, Kero let go and flew toward Syaoran's face with his paw pointing at him and head throbbing.

"Look kid. I. AM. NOT. A. STUFFED. BEAR!"

They heard the bushes moving. Syaoran drew his sword , ready for whatever it was. Tomoyo came out, removing the leaves in her hair.

She smiled and sweetly said, "Thought I'd come out since it's safe now." She faced Sakura. "You're not hurt, are you Sakura?"

Sakura shook her head and replied, "I'm fine Tomoyo. Don't worry."

Tomoyo smiled, "That's good." She looked at the sky. It was getting dark. The sun was already setting. "I think we should make camp tonight. You can join us if you want Mr…."

"It's Li. Syaoran Li." Syaoran pondered about the invitation for a moment. He usually traveled alone, but traveling with them might help him figure out why these people are looking for the rods and what their purpose for the rods are. "Sure. Why not? The more the merrier right?"

Tomoyo clapped her hands together. "Excellent! You can help by gathering wood. Sakura, you go gather some mushrooms and berries. Kero and I will set up the tent and prepare the bonfire."

They all nodded and went to do their chores. Moments pass. Sakura came back with white mushrooms and blueberries and a gallon of water. Soon after Syaoran returned with an armful of twigs and branches. Kero was already done preparing for the bonfire and was soon getting wood from the pile Syaoran just gathered and placing them in position. He then spurted fire in the pile of wood. Kero was definitely an amazing creature. Tomoyo got out of the tent, pot in hand. She placed the pot above the fire and poured water into it.

Syaoran sat near the open fire, observing Kero, Tomoyo, and especially Sakura. Tomoyo is wearing a long white dress, a white hooded cloak, white elbow-length gloves, and white shoes. Judging by the clothing and color, Syaoran would guess that Tomoyo is a white mage. White mages specialize in healing and other magic that help raise status during battle. Tomoyo and Sakura talked to each other with ease, laughing and smiling. From the looks of it, they must be very good friends. As for Sakura, she appears to be the cheery type; always a smile on her face. Just the thought of it, put a small smile on Syaoran's face.

Syaoran was so concentrated on his thoughts that he did not notice a pair of red glowing eyes hiding in the dark corner of the trees.

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Well there you have it, chapter two. N Ya about the fighting scenes, I'm not very good describing it or thinking of it as I write. Hehe but I hope it was good enough. As usu. Review. 


	3. Another Day, Another Fight

**Authoress note: **Ok yea I finally updated for this story. Hey don't look at me, not my fault that I have so many schoolwork, especially from two AP classes! At least be glad that I managed to actually finish writing this chapter. So on with the story….

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The sun tried it's best to shine through the dark clouds. With so much effort, only a small portion of sunlight touched the land and its riches. Creatures of the land were still adjusting to what seems like an endless abyss. The small amount of sunlight managed to penetrate the forest's canvas and unto a small camp, where four figures lay in a deep slumber.

Outside of the tent, a certain messy brown haired boy, lying with arms behind his head near the extinguished campfire, awoken with the sunlight on his face. Lazily opening his eyelids, he adjusted his vision to better suit the environment. He sat up, stretched, and yawned. Standing on his feet, he studied his surroundings and nearly forgot where he was and what happened. Without thinking or knowing, his eyes fell on the tent. He didn't know how long he was staring at that tent. He continued to stare until amber eyes met emerald eyes. Both continued to stay as they were for a few precious moments and when both realized what they were doing, they both averted each other's gaze, a hint of red tint on both their faces.

Both stayed as they were until Tomoyo came out of the tent yawning.

Sakura suddenly exclaimed, "I'll go gather the firewood. Wouldn't want to freeze ourselves or eat cold food. Hehe." She left laughing nervously.

Syaoran then headed the other way without a word. Tomoyo stared at Sakura's direction then Syaoran and back to Sakura. Something was going on between the two. Tomoyo can detect that something was happening between the two even if they can't see it. In her mind, she was conjuring dozens of plans to get their feelings out in the open. Humming, Tomoyo went back into the tent to get the pots and pans and began formulating a plot.

The water current flows steadily, gently rocking the soil that encases the river. Sakura sits at the edge with legs drawn to her chest, admiring the serenity of the river. _I wish I could see the sun at day again and the moon and stars at night._ Looking down at the water, she sighed. She listened carefully to her surroundings while her eyes were closed. The bushes rustled. Sakura dismissed it as the movement of the wind. The bushes moved again. Sakura examined her surroundings, but found nothing suspicious. She averted her attention back on the river. The moment she did, an enormous black figure beast with red bloodthirsty eyes jumped out of the bush and attacked Sakura.

Sakura managed to dodge the attack, but nearly. The beast's claw embedded its mark on her right leg. Sakura's hands moved to her side to find that she left her swords at the camp. _Great! How smart of me to go into the forest without any weapons._ The beast attacked again, but Sakura rolled to the side, near the edge of the river. The beast spurted out black fire. Before it could hit her, Sakura extended her hand and cried out "Shield!" The impact sent Sakura toppling in the river and the beast flying into the bushes. Sakura tried to swim out but couldn't due to her bleeding leg. Suddenly, the steady flowing river turned into a raging rapid. Sakura tried her hardest to swim, but the current conquered her. Her movements slowly steadied. Her sight, her consciousness, and her nerves faded away as she allowed the current to carry her body. As her body was carried, the black beast emerged from the bushes and transformed into a man clad in black. The man had thirsty blood red eyes, hair as spiky and messy as a wild wolf, and has a stiff and chiseled body.

He stared in the direction Sakura floated away and a smile of content appeared on his face. _Good. The princess is gone. That's one less person to worry about. Mission accomplished._ A vertical black hole appeared beside the man. He then stepped into the portal and disappeared out of thin air.

The forest around the camp lay still; no sudden movements, no noise, no wind. Above on the braches of the treetops, lay a sleeping figure. Below, Tomoyo practices her magic while Kero is supervising. Syaoran lays on the branch half asleep, sensing and measuring Tomoyo's level of magic. Tomoyo is strong magically, but weak physically. Her high level magic makes up for her lack of physical strength. Syaoran was getting ready to permit Sleep to take over when he heard Tomoyo's scream. He expertly jumped down from tree branch to tree branch and landed in front of Tomoyo, face to face with a silver furred wolf.

Beast and man stared for what seemed like hours. The silver wolf stared, never blinking. It's head bent down, eyes still gazing into Syaoran's. A piece of white cloth fell onto the floor from the wolf's mouth. As soon as the cloth was released from its mouth, the silver wolf gently backed away and sat on its hind legs like an obedient dog.

Immediately, Tomoyo's eyes widened; she recognized the piece of fabric. Full of rage, Tomoyo launched at the wolf but was held back by a strong arm.

"Let me go! That monster devoured Prin-, Sakura!"

Despite her cries of anguish, Syaoran refused to release her. Still, she continued to plead Syaoran for her release, so she could avenge her dear friend.

Syaoran calmly spoke, "Tomoyo, if the wolf really did devour Sakura, why would it come back with evidence? And why didn't it attack you and me as well?"

Tomoyo slowly calmed down and apologized to Syaoran. Syaoran slowly approached the wolf, its eyes still glaring. He bent his knees low enough to come face to face with the silver beauty.

"Why are you here?" The wolf continued to stare. "Do you know where our friend is?"

As if understanding what he said, the wolf stood on all fours and began leading the way.

The river's current steadied. The body of a girl lay on the border of land and water. She lay there motionless, devoid of any sign of life.

A cloaked stranger with a basket of flowers and fruits on her arm passed by and saw the sleeping form.

"Oh my."

The wolf traveled along the invisible road with Syaoran, Tomoyo, and Kero right behind. A few hours passed and the longer they traveled, the further into the forest they went. Although the day was only half done, the sky cast darkness, enveloping night for those venturing in the forest.

Kero disrupted the silence that lingered among them. "Are we there yet? We've been traveling for so long! And…(stomach grumbling) I'm sooooooooooooo hungry!"

The wolf let out a low and silent growl.

Syaoran spoke out, "Don't you ever think about anything else besides your next meal, eh fur ball?"

Fuming, Kero shouted back, "I AM NOT A FUR BALL! I'D LET YOU KNOW THAT--"

Tomoyo interrupted Kero, "Look, there's a cabin!"

All three of them looked at the direction Tomoyo was pointing. Indeed there was a cabin, right in the middle of the forest. The lights were on and a shadow moved around in the logged house. The wolf started toward the door and the rest followed. As soon as the wolf reached the door, it scratched the door with its paw. The shadow in the light glided to the door. The door slowly opened revealing a woman of age twenty-three. She wore simple attire; she was dressed in a light silverfish-gray short-sleeved dress that barely touched the floor. Her face shone in the moonlight. Her hair was bundled up in the bonnet, but some golden brown hair strands fell on the sides of her face. Her eyes are the same color as her hair, but with a touch of liveliness shone from them.

Speaking softly and gently, she asked, "Is there something I can do for you?" Before anyone could answer, she exclaimed, "Oh, there you are SilverFang. Where were you? I was so worried." SilverFang licked her fingers as if to comfort the young woman. The young woman remembered she had company on her front door. "Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Luna Moonlight and this is my friend SilverFnag. So is there a reason why SilverFang brought you here?"

The moment Luna finished, Tomoyo sprang to Luna, knocking down Syaoran and Kero in the process.

Tomoyo spoke hysterically, "Have you seen a girl with long auburn hair and green eyes about this high? She's a happy girl that smiles all the time and she has this necklace that looks like a star in … in a circle with protruding wings from the sides and…and she goes by the name of-"

"Whoa. Slow down. Now I don't know about the girl you're describing, but I did find a young girl with long auburn hair by the river. She's resting now, but you can look if she's the one you're looking for."

Tomoyo bowed to her repeatedly while saying 'thank you' repeatedly. All went inside one by one. Tomoyo immediately went to the bedside of the sleeping girl. Kero flew to the bowl of sweets on the table and began feasting. Syaoran stood in the center, examining his surroundings. The place looked simple; there were wooden furniture, just simple furniture.

All of a sudden, Tomoyo's cries echoed throughout the cabin. Everyone rushed to her aid and found her kneeling on the ground with her hands covering her face. Kero flew close to her and asked what the matter was. Her response was barely above a whisper. Kero asked again.

She spoke a little louder, "I-It's S-Sakura. (sniff) S-She's a-alright, she's alive." All of a sudden she cried hysterically, "She's alright! I can't believe we finally found her! I thought I'd never see her again!" Tomoyo broke down into tears of happiness.

Everyone sweat dropped. Syaoran looked suspiciously at Luna. Soon Luna noticed his hard cold stare. She sighed and walked into the kitchen. Syaoran followed suit. As Luna sat on the wooden chair, Syaoran gently slammed the table with his hand and stared coldly into Luna's eyes.

He began to speak, "Is there something you're hiding from us?"

She coolly replied without losing eye contact, "Perhaps I am, perhaps I am not. Whether I am or not does not concern you or your friends."

Sighing, Syaoran massaged the point between his eyes with his fingers. "It does."

Her eyes widened in astonishment. "What do you mean?"

Syaoran continued, "For one, you live here all alone and I could tell through your movement discipline that you know no way of defense. Second, not many people are known to befriend a wolf, especially of one that knows who to befriend and who not to. Third, it was you after all who saved Tomoyo's friend."

She said in amazement, "You are quite a sharp observer."

In the shadows of the night, a black beast with blood red eyes hid, watching through the window in the distance. _So she still lives. I will make sure she doesn't survive this time._

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And there you have it, chapter 3 of my story. Hopefully I'll have more spare time to continue writing this. Hehe. I just had so many more ideas I wanna put in this. Don't worry though there are more to come. 


	4. Reattack

Author's note: Yay I'm able to update again. Hehe well I've prolonged it long enough. Enjoy… and please review.

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**Chapter 4: Reattack**

The starless sky indicated that the day has taken control. In the gardens of a beautiful stone castle, a man with dark auburn hair and warm brown eyes hidden behind clear spectacles, sat in a field of a variety of flowers. He sat there carelessly, not minding anything else but the words inscribed in a small pink book. As he turned the page a young girl's voice called out, "Papa!" The dark auburn haired man was greeted with a hug. He returned the embrace with one of his own. The young girl he embraced was no older than five years old. Her hair was auburn and her eyes emerald. She would always wear a smile on her face. Following the young girl was a ten year old boy who has raven black hair and dark brown eyes. Both took their place near their father.

The little girl, Sakura, looked up to her father's face and asked, "Papa, what is that you're reading?"

Looking down at the small pink book, he replied, "This?" Sakura nodded. "Well this belonged to your mother, Nadeshiko, once." At the mention of Nadeshiko, the boy, Touya, flinched.

The father, Fujitaka, glanced at his son. Fujitaka smiled sadly at the remembrance of his beloved wife. He was soon in a trance, walking down memory lane, remembering when he first met Nadeshiko to when they started dating to when he proposed and she accepted to when they got married not caring what the king though to when Touya was born and finally to when Nadeshiko died hours after given birth to Sakura. Fujitaka was snapped out of his trance when little Sakura kept calling him.

"Papa, what's in the book?"

Smiling at his curious daughter, he answered, "Your mother's collection of poems. Some she even wrote herself."

Her face beaming and she jumping excitedly, she begged her father to read one. Laughing at her cute behavior, he turned the pages searching for a poem to read. As he was beginning, the children scooted closer to their father.

"There are many things that we overlook.

So many that are undertook.

We are so busy making a living that we forget how to live.

We are overcomed by the glamour of material things that we soon forget completely the true meaning of life.

We are so absorbed by greater desires in life that we forget the value of simple things like a smile.

A simple smile can lighten up a room just as easily as thousands of candles.

A simple smile can bring happiness in someone's life just as easily as a roomful of gold.

A simple smile can uplift morale just as easily as someone lifting up the weight of the world on your shoulders.

A simple smile can give you a fresh of breath air just as easily as walking into a field of open clean air.

A simple smile can give you a ray of sunshine just as easily as the moonlight penetrating the darkness.

Something as simple as a smile can do many wonders thought unimaginable."

Little Sakura's face showed one of admiration. Before Sakura could request her father to recite another one, one of the king's servants came running. When he reached the king, he bowed. His face expressed worry and apprehension but as soon as he was aware that the young princess and prince were present he manipulated his expression to that of seriousness and stolidity. The servant's attempt to hide his emotion was futile since both the children were sharp observers and quite clever for their age.

"Your Majesty, Sorcerer Kirad requests your presence."

Sensing that Sorcerer Kirad was up to something, His Majesty asked, "Did he say specifically why he requests my presence?"

"No sire. He just requested you meet him. No matter how many times I asked he will not abide by my inquiries no longer."

"Very well. Tell him I will be there shortly."

"Yes sire." The servant respectfully bowed and headed toward the castle to give the news to the Sorcerer.

Sakura and Touya looked at each other with uncertainty. Their instincts told them that the renowned Sorcerer had hidden intentions behind his meeting with their father. Before they could commute with their father, Fujitaka ascended and made his way to the castle.

Later into the night, fire erupted and screams broke out throughout the Clow Kingdom, but most heavily centered at the castle. Little Sakura ran down the many corridors, ignoring the pleas of the servants that try to keep her safe. She ran, wearing her pink nightgown, as fast as she could, turning every corners until she reached her father's throne room. She forced the doors wide open and what she saw made her completely devastated. The room was in rags, the curtains half burnt, and bloodshed and bodies laying everywhere. Her eyes wandered and wandered until they focused on her father's dead body surrounded in a pool of blood. Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs until she heard someone calling out her name.

Sakura jolted awake, seeing before her Syaoran with worry in his eyes. Without thinking, she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and cried on his shoulder. Completely taken by surprise and not knowing what to do, Syaoran enclosed her tiny frame within his embrace and allowed her to continue to cry. In the corner of the room, Tomoyo and Kero glanced at each other, both knowing full well what the princess dreamt about.

Syaoran did not know what this sensation he was currently feeling was. All he knew was that it was something long forgotten. He continued comforting Sakura. Soon enough her crying gradually became snuffles.

The door was blasted open, sending the door flying across to the other side of the house along with some splintered wood from the door frame. Blazing red fire replaced the door's existence; fire crackling and devouring any and all remaining presence of what used to be there. The fire door started spitting out fireballs randomly to different sections of the house. Soon the inside of the house looked like a paradise for demons and hell creatures. For a moment the attack ceased. Luna, Syaoran, Sakura, Kero, and Tomoyo waited in anticipation. SilverFang positioned himself in front of the group, to attack if need be. Nothing but silence and the crackling of the fire can be heard. SilverFang was then in attack position; his fur stood on ends, his face scrunched up with his white sharp fangs showing, and his tail pointing straight up.

Out of the fire a huge black wolf-like beast appeared. Its bool-hungry red eyes scanned the vicinity, searching for its target. Those red orbs landed on the quivering calm group. For a moment a look of surprise was seen in the beast's eyes but was quickly changed to the cold and uncaring eyes. Its claws silently dug deep in the cabin ground, signaling his readiness for an attack.

SilverFang snarled at the black beast, daring it to launch its attack.

Luna whispered silently to the group, "We better run now if we value our lives, before the cabin burns down or before that beast sinks his teeth into our flesh." The rest nodded in understanding. When Luna yelled "Run!" the whole group ran out the back way and at the same precise moment the beast launched at them but SilverFang intercepted his attack. The two beasts brawled it out, rolling this way and that way with fangs sinking into the opponent's skin. The fire roared loudly as if cheering on the fight.

Outside the burning cabin, the group watched the shadows that move within. The shadows kept moving neither one giving in. As they were watching the scene, each one's eyes held an emotion; Sakura's eyes held painful memories, Tomoyo's held grief, Luna's held calmness, Kero's held concern, and Syaoran's held caution and suspicion. Suddenly without warning, the cabin collapsed, the fire eating away its dead corpse. Nothing but the mournful song of Nature could be heard.

Luna spoke with a hoarse voice that threatening to reveal her hidden emotion, "We have to go." With that she departed into the night of the forest, to never again lay eyes on her once beautiful home.

The rest followed suit, except one. Tomoyo noticed the absence of her friend. Sakura still stood on the same spot motionless. Placing a comforting arm around Sakura, Tomoyo gently motioned Sakura to follow. Kero flew beside his mistress to show that he is concerned but he will do his best to comfort her.

Silently, they all walked through the forest night, not one saying a word. They continued walking in groups of two; Sakura with her head bent low, with Tomoyo and Syaoran walking near Luna.

Syaoran placed himself at her side. He whispered, "So are you there isn't something you're hiding?"

Without changing her pace or position she responded, "What makes you still sure I'm hiding something?"

"Because there has to be a reason a beast like that attacked a lone cabin."

Luna didn't answer, she stayed silent. "Well, a long time ago I was a-"

Sakura absentmindedly spoke out loud, "I'm sure that was the same creature that attacked me earlier."

At that time, everyone's head snapped her way. Tomoyo looked at the princess with pleading eyes as if asking for it not to be true. Tomoyo stuttered, "W-What did y-you s-say S-Sakura?"

Sakura's head snapped up. She was looking at all of them with confusion in her eyes. Her eyes kept blinking. "Hoe? Did I say something?"

Luna spoke, "You said something pertaining to the beast."

Sakura's eyes landed on the ground as if searching for something hidden underneath. She quietly said, "I think that was the same beast that attacked me when I was by the forest stream." Everyone was listening intently. Not a sound was made from either one of them. Closing her eyes and clutching her hands into fists tightly, Sakura said with tears threatening to fall, "I bet that monster knew I was still alive and hunted me down. If it wasn't for me, then your house would still be in tact and your wolf friend would still be alive. It's my entire fault!" Tears flowed freely from her face. She shut her eyes tightly to hold in the rest.

Tomoyo and Kero were rubbing her back to try to comfort her but the attempt failed.

Syaoran walked forward and swung his hand which made contact with Sakura's cheek, reverberating sounds throughout the forest. Shock was written on everyone's but Syaoran's faces. Slowly, Sakura lifted her hand to the place where she was slapped. Syaoran sternly said, "Get a grip on yourself. We can't prevent the future from coming." Sakura then turned her head to face him. She was about to say something when Kero flew in front of Syaoran's face and yelled, "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE KID, HITTING SAKURA LIKE THAT! LAY A FINGER ON HER AGAIN AND I'LL-"

Sakura stopped her guardian. "Kero… that's enough. He's right."

"WHAT! YOU'RE SIDING WITH THE GAKI!"

Syaoran retorted, "At least I'm not a stuffed toy."

Kero was about to charge at Syaoran when Tomoyo held him back by holding his tail. Despite the fact that Tomoyo was holding his tail, Kero kept charging toward Syaoran, his little fists swinging rapidly, trying to plummet Syaoran. Syaoran placed his pointer finger on Kero's forehead, causing Kero to stop, his eyes blinking in confusion. Syaoran then said, "Bug off." Right after he said that, he flicked Kero's forehead, sending him flying backwards. Sakura caught the flying Kero as he was fumbling-flying backwards. She patted Kero's head, trying to cool him down but he was mumbling inaudible curses like "Stupid gaki."

Sakura then said, "I think we better get going." Walking silently toward the front, she passed by Syaoran and glanced at him with eyes full of sorrow and regret. She continued walking. Amber eyes still gazed at her retreating back, still watching, watching her every movement. Syaoran snapped back into reality. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the feelings that was starting to bloom. _What's going on with me?_

If it were possible, the night sky turned even darker. The night clouds covered the stars and the moon, the source of light for weary night travelers. Wolf cries echoed throughout the darkened woods, howling in agony from the absence of the moonlight. The leaves from the trees and bushes rustled from the wind's gentle blow. The rustling, the howling, the hooting of the owls, and other noises heard in the forest, blended together in harmony to create Nature's symphony.

The group continued traveling despite the fact they can barely see anything. Luna was in the lead since she knew the forest better than anyone in the group, followed by Sakura who was holding a sleeping Kero, then Tomoyo who had her head hung down, and finally Syaoran who was paying close attention to his surroundings.

Tomoyo spoke to Syaoran, low enough for only him to hear. "Don't you think you were a bit too hard on Sakura? Shouting would have been okay but slapping her? That's too much for her since she's so fragile and bruises easily."

Upon hearing that Sakura bruises easily, Syaoran instantly felt a pang of guilt hitting him in his heart. Masking his guilt, he replied coldly, "She needs someone to snap her out of it." His eyes instantly focused themselves on Sakura. He continued to stay in that state until he heard Tomoyo talking to him.

"But… couldn't you have done it more gently?"

Syaoran immediately turned his head to face her. He saw in her eyes that she cares truly for her friend's safety and well being. He did no respond. He just continued walking and passed Tomoyo. He heard her whisper, "I guess that's a no," to herself.

Somewhere in the forest, near the vicinity of the traveling group, a silver light shone, zigzagging through the tall trees and stopping at the sight of a red-orange and yellow light. There the silver light stayed, watching them.


End file.
